In order to reduce the need for landfill capacity to accommodate waste articles such as interior trim components for vehicles it has been proposed that the composite article be broken into smaller component particles and mixed in a liquid filled vessel. The mixing separates foam and vinyl components of the composite particles. The less dense foam particles are float separated by adding water to the vessel and the denser vinyl particles gravitate to the bottom of the vessel for collection at a bottom outlet. While satisfactory for its intended purpose, the method requires dewatering of the particles and subsequent drying, all of which add to the recycling costs.
Other processes are known to separate first and second components of a composite article or mixture.
One example of such prior art processes is a process for separating gold from ore. The process includes the step of air levitating crushed ore on a fluidizing bed and vibrating the bed to cause the heavier gold particles to be separated in one direction and the ore to be separated in another direction at two density fractions within the fluidizing bed. Such processes have the disadvantage of producing a waste slag which requires disposal in a landfill. Another example of two density fraction separation includes the separation of lead from lead acid batteries. In such case once the lead is separated the battery casings are landfilled due to acid contamination of the plastic in the casings. The same problem exists in reclaiming copper or aluminum wire with a plastic outer casing. Once the metal is reclaimed the outer casing is discarded because it is contaminated with small pieces of metal wire.